It’s important not to overreact to the preseason, but the preseason is undoubtedly a great opportunity for individual player evaluation as well as overall roster evaluation. As the regular season draws near, a couple of areas on the Denver Broncos roster have clear needs for an upgrade. A couple of position groups have some injuries right now and others just look like they need better depth, or perhaps like young players will need more time to develop.
The Broncos have to cut their roster down from 85 players to 80 players by Tuesday afternoon. There is only about a week before rosters have to be cut down from 80 players to 53. Even with that in mind, there are players currently available in free agency that the Broncos might want to try and figure out a way to bring in.
This team currently very clearly needs some help on the defensive line. It also looks like they are going to need reinforcements at cornerback after Michael Ojemudia’s injury. What players are out there? Who is available that, at this point, would be worth bringing in? Let’s take a look at four players the Broncos should seriously consider adding to the roster ASAP that probably won’t be available in free agency for too long.
Denver Broncos free agent target no. 1: Kingsley Keke, DL
It’s clear after just one preseason game that the Denver Broncos need some reinforcements on the defensive line. If any sort of injury were to happen to Dre’Mont Jones or DJ Jones, this team would be in really rough shape up front defensively. They are relying heavily on those two for production and consistency, along with two other primary players in the rotation, DeShawn Williams and Mike Purcell.
Kingsley Keke was recently a surprise cut of the Arizona Cardinals. A former fifth-round pick of the Green Bay Packers, Keke is certainly familiar with a number of coaches on the Denver Broncos’ current staff and he’s played quite a bit throughout his first three NFL seasons. The former Texas A&M product had 6.5 sacks over the last two seasons and at this point, it’s hard to argue he wouldn’t be a better option than McTelvin Agim or Jonathan Harris, who each had really bad games against the Bills in preseason play.
Denver Broncos free agent target no. 2: Somebody at cornerback
The Broncos need to make a move at the cornerback position. The Michael Ojemudia injury may have given them the last real excuse they needed to make a substantial move here, even though they already also suffered a scare earlier this offseason with K’Waun Williams and Ronald Darby missing some time. At this point, how can you go into the 2022 season and not anticipate you’re going to need better depth here?
There are three players out there right now that I think make the most sense for the Broncos to look at in free agency.
1. Joe Haden
Joe Haden is a veteran who has been a three-time Pro Bowl selection with 29 career interceptions. He is 33 years old but he could end up being a very valuable depth piece in the secondary over the course of the season. As of right now, the question is whether or not you’d be able to convince a player like Haden to come in as a CB4 for your roster, or CB5 depending on what the team feels about Damarri Mathis.
At some point during the season, you would see Haden play. It is just a matter of “when”. The Broncos can’t really afford any more injuries at cornerback and while Damarri Mathis may have impressed at times in camp, can you thrust him into a full-time role out there yet?
2. Xavier Rhodes
A former first-round pick by the Minnesota Vikings out of Florida State, Rhodes has had a very nice NFL career. He’s played all but four games over the last two seasons for the Indianapolis Colts and his ties to general manager George Paton could be enough to get him to come to Denver and provide some much-needed veteran depth at the cornerback position.
3. Kevin King
Former Green Bay Packers second-round pick Kevin King remains available as a free agent, and you have to wonder why nobody has even brought him in for a look at this point. He has two significant ties in Denver right now. Defensive consultant Dom Capers was King’s defensive coordinator with the Packers in 2017 when King was a rookie.
Christian Parker, the Denver Broncos’ defensive backs coach, was also a defensive quality control coach with the Packers from 2019-20, so he’s also familiar with King. This player makes a lot of sense for the Broncos at this point.
Denver Broncos free agent target no. 3: Sheldon Richardson, DL
The second out of three defensive linemen the Denver Broncos should potentially look into signing, Sheldon Richardson has long been a productive NFL defensive lineman. Now, he could provide some depth to the Denver Broncos up front.
The former first-round pick of the New York Jets back in 2013 has not missed a game since 2017. He’s been durable, he’s been productive, and he’s available. Richardson is coming off of a season with the Minnesota Vikings in which he racked up 13 QB hits, the most he’s had in a season since 2018. He’s obviously not falling off, by any means, and for the Broncos, he could be extremely valuable to have as the season wears along.
One primary connection that Richardson has in Denver is general manager George Paton, who was in the Vikings’ front office when the team signed Richardson back in 2018. After the 2018 season, Richardson moved on to Cleveland to play for the Browns for two seasons before re-signing with the Vikings again last year.
Another big connection for Richardson in Denver could be Russell Wilson. Richardson was a member of the Seattle Seahawks for the 2017 season after Seattle acquired him in a trade, so Wilson is undoubtedly familiar with him.
One way or another, the veteran Richardson doesn’t need to come in and steal snaps from anyone the Broncos are really hoping to get on the field for significant snaps in 2022. He can be an effective depth piece and give the team some peace of mind while young players like Matt Henningsen and Eyioma Uwazurike continue to develop.
Denver Broncos free agent to target: Ndamukong Suh, DL
The Denver Broncos need to sign Ndamukong Suh before somebody else does, especially someone else in their own division. Even into his mid-30s, Suh has proven he’s still extremely effective on the defensive line and there was no greater example of that than in the Buccaneers’ playoff matchup against the Los Angeles Rams.
Although the Rams went on to win the game, it wasn’t for a lack of effort on Suh’s part. The star defensive lineman racked up a whopping four QB hits on Matthew Stafford and made his presence felt all throughout the game.
Although the Broncos haven’t been specifically connected to Suh at this point, that should come as absolutely no surprise. The team kept interest in Anthony Barr completely under wraps until Barr signed a free agent deal with the Dallas Cowboys. They kept interest in Randy Gregory absolutely silent during NFL free agency when every team is leaking information left and right.
If the Broncos had interest in Ndamukong Suh, nobody would know about it.
There was interest at one point between the Seattle Seahawks and Suh, so you have to wonder how much Russell Wilson’s presence on the roster could play a factor there. Suh undoubtedly would want to play for a contender and the Broncos are definitely that with Wilson on the roster.
Given the team’s other players on the defensive line, could Suh be a more perfect fit to step in and allow DeShawn Williams to become a depth and rotational piece? A starting defensive line of Dre’Mont Jones, DJ Jones, and Ndamukong Suh could give teams absolute fits.
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Suh still had six sacks last year. He still had 13 QB hits and seven tackles for loss. He’s still a highly effective player and someone who has a ton of playoff experience. He could add some much-needed nastiness to that Denver Broncos defensive front and most importantly, I think he would boost the team’s chances at a championship this year.